All Renters Week long we've been looking at some of the most happening rental neighborhoods in Los Angeles. We've checked out the Historic Core, Echo Park, and Venice so far. Today: East Hollywood.
East Hollywood, roughly defined as east of Western, west of Hoover, and between Hollywood and Beverly, is a large swath full of diverse cultures. Unlike the other neighborhoods we've covered this week, it hasn't seen any major revitalization in the last couple decades and remains rather gritty. Still, the neighborhood is where a lot of people new to LA call home, because it's affordable and close to everything (plus: it's Hollywood, baby!). What East Hollywood has: public transit, including subways. What it doesn't: the hip factor. We think that could be changing though--maybe you can catch it just as it hits its upswing.
Rental units: A mix of dense apartment buildings, mostly about three to four stories, that date anywhere from the 1920s to now (lots of stucco, but there's character too).
Rent range: About $600 for a small studio to about $1,325 for a one bedroom in a 1920s building with hardwood floors.
Who lives there: New transplants, small immigrant families, LACC students, people working in post-production, actors with one to two IMDb credits, writers who can't afford Silver Lake.
Neighborhood highlights: The Red Line cuts diagonally through this neighborhood, so getting to central Hollywood, Downtown, Los Feliz, Koreatown, or NoHo is pretty easy, and buses run up and down Western regularly. Parking is not really restricted, so if you do have a car and can find a space you're good until street cleaning. Korean restaurants dot Western and there's also a two block stretch between Rosewood and Melrose that's packed with deal-laden furniture stores. There's great Thai in Thai Town and delicious garlicky chicken at Zankou on Sunset. HelMel (the Heliotrope/Melrose area) is one of the neighborhood's better bets for hipsterfication--it has a little strip of shops including Scoops and the Bicycle Kitchen. Just north on Fountain, you can get yuppie brunch at Square One and feel small, insignificant, and kind of creeped out by the giant Scientology sign (on the southwest end of Scientology's big campus). Larchmont Village is close and has dozens of restaurants and shops. Melrose Hill is a charming cluster of protected homes from the early twentieth century.
On Craigslist, sometimes referred to as: Hollywood, Larchmont Village, Los Feliz, Koreatown
If you want to spend a little more, try: Los Feliz
If you want to spend a little less, try: Westlake
Sample rentals:
-- A studio in a 1930s building with hardwood floors and a patio. Walking distance to three grocery stores. Rent is $600.
-- A single that only requires a $250 security deposit. Landlord pays for water and trash; laundry on site. Rent is $675.
-- A one bedroom unit in a garden-style building. Large closet, vertical blinds. Only $99 security deposit. Rent is $995.
-- A one bedroom unit with plush carpets, crown and wall moldings, tiled counters, and fireplaces. Near Children's Hospital. Rent is $1,049.
-- One bedroom in a 1920s building with hardwood floors, a few blocks from Hollywood/Western subway stop. Rent is $1,325.
· A Renter's Guide to the Historic Core [Curbed LA]
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